IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i19p5348-d271399.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Travelers’ Acceptance of Electric Carsharing Systems in Developing Countries: The Case of China

Author

Listed:
  • Vanduy Tran

    (Faculty of Management & Economics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China)

  • Shengchuan Zhao

    (School of transportation and logistics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China)

  • El Bachir Diop

    (Faculty of Management & Economics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China)

  • Weiya Song

    (School of transportation and logistics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China)

Abstract

Emerging electric carsharing (EC) systems have demonstrated their advantages and attracted public attention. The number of EC systems is growing throughout the world, especially in metropolitan areas in developing countries. For successful implementation, developers need to understand the public acceptance of EC services. In this study, we sought to determine the factors that affect EC acceptance in the context of developing countries. The study involved 437 individuals, aged between 18 and 65 years, who were randomly sampled from an EC service area in China. The determinants of EC acceptance were investigated based on an extended version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and tested by using Structural Equation Modeling. The results indicated that hedonic motivation (HM) has a powerful effect on behavioral intention (BI) to use the EC service in the future. Performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE), and familiarity with the carsharing concept (FM) also influenced EC’s acceptance. However, the impact of social influence (SI) did not emerge from this study. The results also revealed that gender moderates the effects of EE and FM on BI. Age moderated the effect of FM on BI and unexpectedly moderated the impact of HM on BI. The present study confirmed the validity of the UTAUT research model in predicting the intention to use an EC system in developing countries. Implications and recommendations for government and EC developers are also discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Vanduy Tran & Shengchuan Zhao & El Bachir Diop & Weiya Song, 2019. "Travelers’ Acceptance of Electric Carsharing Systems in Developing Countries: The Case of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-22, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:19:p:5348-:d:271399
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/19/5348/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/19/5348/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Schaefers, Tobias, 2013. "Exploring carsharing usage motives: A hierarchical means-end chain analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 69-77.
    2. repec:cdl:itsrrp:qt0850h6r5 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    4. repec:cdl:itsdav:qt0850h6r5 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Efthymiou, Dimitrios & Antoniou, Constantinos, 2016. "Modeling the propensity to join carsharing using hybrid choice models and mixed survey data," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 143-149.
    6. Efthymiou, Dimitrios & Antoniou, Constantinos & Waddell, Paul, 2013. "Factors affecting the adoption of vehicle sharing systems by young drivers," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 64-73.
    7. Wenxiang Li & Ye Li & Jing Fan & Haopeng Deng, 2017. "Siting of Carsharing Stations Based on Spatial Multi-Criteria Evaluation: A Case Study of Shanghai EVCARD," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-16, January.
    8. Adnan, Nadia & Md Nordin, Shahrina & bin Bahruddin, Mohamad Ariff & Ali, Murad, 2018. "How trust can drive forward the user acceptance to the technology? In-vehicle technology for autonomous vehicle," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 819-836.
    9. Clewlow, Regina R., 2016. "Carsharing and sustainable travel behavior: Results from the San Francisco Bay Area," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 158-164.
    10. Warsame, Mohammed Hersi & Ireri, Edward Mugambi, 2018. "Moderation effect on mobile microfinance services in Kenya:An extended UTAUT model," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 67-75.
    11. Gefen, David, 2000. "E-commerce: the role of familiarity and trust," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 725-737, December.
    12. Cartenì, Armando & Cascetta, Ennio & de Luca, Stefano, 2016. "A random utility model for park & carsharing services and the pure preference for electric vehicles," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 49-59.
    13. Prieto, Marc & Baltas, George & Stan, Valentina, 2017. "Car sharing adoption intention in urban areas: What are the key sociodemographic drivers?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 218-227.
    14. Marcel Paulssen & Dirk Temme & Akshay Vij & Joan Walker, 2014. "Values, attitudes and travel behavior: a hierarchical latent variable mixed logit model of travel mode choice," Transportation, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 873-888, July.
    15. Stasko, Timon H. & Buck, Andrew B. & Oliver Gao, H., 2013. "Carsharing in a university setting: Impacts on vehicle ownership, parking demand, and mobility in Ithaca, NY," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 262-268.
    16. Schade, Jens & Schlag, Bernhard, 2000. "Acceptability of Urban Transport Pricing," Research Reports 72, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    17. Rabbitt, Niamh & Ghosh, Bidisha, 2016. "Economic and environmental impacts of organised Car Sharing Services: A case study of Ireland," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 3-12.
    18. Wolf, Angelika & Seebauer, Sebastian, 2014. "Technology adoption of electric bicycles: A survey among early adopters," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 196-211.
    19. repec:cdl:itsrrp:qt34f5h2r0 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Ben-Akiva, Moshe & McFadden, Daniel & Train, Kenneth & Börsch-Supan, Axel, 2002. "Hybrid Choice Models: Progress and Challenges," Sonderforschungsbereich 504 Publications 02-29, Sonderforschungsbereich 504, Universität Mannheim;Sonderforschungsbereich 504, University of Mannheim.
    21. Ramon Palau-Saumell & Santiago Forgas-Coll & Javier Sánchez-García & Emilio Robres, 2019. "User Acceptance of Mobile Apps for Restaurants: An Expanded and Extended UTAUT-2," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-24, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Teng Yu & Yajun Zhang & Ai Ping Teoh & Anchao Wang & Chengliang Wang, 2023. "Factors Influencing University Students’ Behavioral Intention to Use Electric Car-Sharing Services in Guangzhou, China," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, November.
    2. Imaduddin, & Butar, Ivan & Purwanto, Rizka & Putranto, Aditya & Afrianto, Whisnu Febry, 2025. "Trust and the intent to use on-demand charging services of electric vehicles in Indonesia: The moderating effect of perceived charging risk and environmental concern," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    3. Luis Rivera-González & David Bolonio & Luis F. Mazadiego & Sebastián Naranjo-Silva & Kenny Escobar-Segovia, 2020. "Long-Term Forecast of Energy and Fuels Demand Towards a Sustainable Road Transport Sector in Ecuador (2016–2035): A LEAP Model Application," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-26, January.
    4. Phasiri Manutworakit & Kasem Choocharukul, 2022. "Factors Influencing Battery Electric Vehicle Adoption in Thailand—Expanding the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology’s Variables," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-16, July.
    5. ShiYong Zheng & Hua Liu & Weili Guan & Yuping Yang & JiaYing Li & Shah Fahad & Biqing Li, 2022. "Identifying Intention-Based Factors Influencing Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Electric Vehicles: A Sustainable Consumption Paradigm," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-15, December.
    6. Singha Chaveesuk & Wornchanok Chaiyasoonthorn & Nayika Kamales & Zdzislawa Dacko-Pikiewicz & Wiesław Liszewski & Bilal Khalid, 2023. "Evaluating the Determinants of Consumer Adoption of Autonomous Vehicles in Thailand—An Extended UTAUT Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-22, January.
    7. Haider Ali Abbasi & Satirenjit Kaur Johl & Zullina Bt Hussain Shaari & Wajiha Moughal & Muhammad Mazhar & Muhammad Ali Musarat & Waqas Rafiq & Asaad Salam Farooqi & Alexey Borovkov, 2021. "Consumer Motivation by Using Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology towards Electric Vehicles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-22, November.
    8. Susan (Sixue) Jia & Jiaying Ding, 2024. "Will Customers’ Understanding of the Trolley Dilemma Hinder Their Adoption of Robotaxi?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-18, April.
    9. Jaeyoung Lee & Farrukh Baig & Mir Aftab Hussain Talpur & Sajan Shaikh, 2021. "Public Intentions to Purchase Electric Vehicles in Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-18, May.
    10. Gary Cokins & Ionica Oncioiu & Mirela Cătălina Türkeș & Dan Ioan Topor & Sorinel Căpuşneanu & Carmen Adina Paștiu & Delia Deliu & Alina Nicoleta Solovăstru, 2020. "Intention to Use Accounting Platforms in Romania: A Quantitative Study on Sustainability and Social Influence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-17, July.
    11. Fei Ma & Dan Guo & Kum Fai Yuen & Qipeng Sun & Fuxia Ren & Xiaobo Xu & Chengyong Zhao, 2020. "The Influence of Continuous Improvement of Public Car-Sharing Platforms on Passenger Loyalty: A Mediation and Moderation Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-21, April.
    12. Curtale, Riccardo & Liao, Feixiong & van der Waerden, Peter, 2021. "User acceptance of electric car-sharing services: The case of the Netherlands," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 266-282.
    13. Hu, Jia-Wei & Javaid, Aneeque & Creutzig, Felix, 2021. "Leverage points for accelerating adoption of shared electric cars: Perceived benefits and environmental impact of NEVs," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    14. Leiming Li & Yu Zhang, 2023. "An extended theory of planned behavior to explain the intention to use carsharing: a multi-group analysis of different sociodemographic characteristics," Transportation, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 143-181, February.
    15. Dalal Bamufleh & Amani Saud Alshamari & Asrar Saud Alsobhi & Hanan Hisham Ezzi & Waad Sultan Alruhaili, 2021. "Exploring Public Attitudes toward E-Government Health Applications Used During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Saudi Arabia," Computer and Information Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 14(3), pages 1-1, August.
    16. Farrukh Baig & Konstantinos Kirytopoulos & Jaeyoung Lee & Evangelos Tsamilis & Ruizhi Mao & Panagiotis Ntzeremes, 2022. "Changes in People’s Mobility Behavior in Greece after the COVID-19 Outbreak," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-22, March.
    17. Marceli Adriane Schvartz & Lucas Veiga Avila & Walter Leal Filho & Luciane Neves Canha & Julio Cezar Mairesse Siluk & Thiago Antônio Beuron Corrêa de Barros & Luis Felipe Dias Lopes & Elda Rodrigues S, 2024. "Analysis of the Factors Influencing the Purchase of Electric Vehicles in Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-22, November.
    18. Zhang, Yu & Li, Leiming, 2022. "Research on travelers’ transportation mode choice between carsharing and private cars based on the logit dynamic evolutionary game model," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 29(C).
    19. Kirtikumar Tolani & Sridhar Manohar & Satish Rao, 2025. "Measuring sustainable mobility of electric vehicles: determining critical factors with policy mix support for developing economies and user convenience," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-35, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rüdiger Hahn & Felix Ostertag & Adrian Lehr & Marion Büttgen & Sabine Benoit, 2020. "“I like it, but I don't use it”: Impact of carsharing business models on usage intentions in the sharing economy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1404-1418, March.
    2. Yoon-Young Chun & Mitsutaka Matsumoto & Kiyotaka Tahara & Kenichiro Chinen & Hideki Endo, 2019. "Exploring Factors Affecting Car Sharing Use Intention in the Southeast-Asia Region: A Case Study in Java, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-26, September.
    3. Thurner, Thomas & Fursov, Konstantin & Nefedova, Alena, 2022. "Early adopters of new transportation technologies: Attitudes of Russia’s population towards car sharing, the electric car and autonomous driving," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 403-417.
    4. Curtale, Riccardo & Liao, Feixiong & van der Waerden, Peter, 2021. "User acceptance of electric car-sharing services: The case of the Netherlands," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 266-282.
    5. Leiming Li & Yu Zhang, 2023. "An extended theory of planned behavior to explain the intention to use carsharing: a multi-group analysis of different sociodemographic characteristics," Transportation, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 143-181, February.
    6. Loes M. Derikx & Dea van Lierop, 2021. "Intentions to Participate in Carsharing: The Role of Self- and Social Identity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-31, February.
    7. van der Linden, Hidde & Correia, Gonçalo & van Oort, Niels & Koster, Suze & Legêne, Martijn & Kroesen, Maarten, 2025. "Driving factors behind station-based car sharing adoption: Discovering distinct user profiles through a latent class cluster analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 232-241.
    8. Papu Carrone, Andrea & Hoening, Valerie Maria & Jensen, Anders Fjendbo & Mabit, Stefan Eriksen & Rich, Jeppe, 2020. "Understanding car sharing preferences and mode substitution patterns: A stated preference experiment," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 139-147.
    9. Zhou, Fan & Zheng, Zuduo & Whitehead, Jake & Washington, Simon & Perrons, Robert K. & Page, Lionel, 2020. "Preference heterogeneity in mode choice for car-sharing and shared automated vehicles," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 633-650.
    10. Julie Bulteau & Thierry Feuillet & Sophie Dantan, 2019. "Carpooling and carsharing for commuting in the Paris region: A comprehensive exploration of the individual and contextual correlates of their uses," Post-Print hal-04362193, HAL.
    11. Ransford A. Acheampong & Alhassan Siiba, 2020. "Modelling the determinants of car-sharing adoption intentions among young adults: the role of attitude, perceived benefits, travel expectations and socio-demographic factors," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(5), pages 2557-2580, October.
    12. Merfeld, Katrin & Wilhelms, Mark-Philipp & Henkel, Sven & Kreutzer, Karin, 2019. "Carsharing with shared autonomous vehicles: Uncovering drivers, barriers and future developments – A four-stage Delphi study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 66-81.
    13. Burghard, Uta & Scherrer, Aline, 2022. "Sharing vehicles or sharing rides - Psychological factors influencing the acceptance of carsharing and ridepooling in Germany," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    14. Eliška Vejchodská & Hana Brůhová Foltýnová & Alena Rybičková, 2024. "Carsharing users’ behaviour and attitudes. The role of car availability in households," Transportation, Springer, vol. 51(5), pages 1785-1807, October.
    15. Silvestri, Alessandro & Foudi, Sébastien & Galarraga, Ibon & Ansuategi, Alberto, 2021. "The contribution of carsharing to low carbon mobility: Complementarity and substitution with other modes," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    16. Riccardo Ceccato & Marco Diana, 2021. "Substitution and complementarity patterns between traditional transport means and car sharing: a person and trip level analysis," Transportation, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 1523-1540, August.
    17. Marc Kuhn & Viola Marquardt & Sarah Selinka, 2021. "“Is Sharing Really Caring?”: The Role of Environmental Concern and Trust Reflecting Usage Intention of “Station-Based” and “Free-Floating”—Carsharing Business Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-18, July.
    18. Ameen, Nisreen & Shah, Mahmood Hussain & Sims, Julian & Choudrie, Jyoti & Willis, Robert, 2020. "Are there peas in a pod when considering mobile phone and mobile applications use: A quantitative study," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    19. Shichao Sun & Yuanqian Liu & Yukun Yao & Zhengyu Duan & Xiaokun Wang, 2021. "The Determinants to Promote College Students’ Use of Car-Sharing: An Empirical Study at Dalian Maritime University, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-12, June.
    20. Muhammad Safdar & Arshad Jamal & Hassan M. Al-Ahmadi & Muhammad Tauhidur Rahman & Meshal Almoshaogeh, 2022. "Analysis of the Influential Factors towards Adoption of Car-Sharing: A Case Study of a Megacity in a Developing Country," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-25, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:19:p:5348-:d:271399. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.